Chapter 9
AN: Thank you so much for the response to the last chapter, I have truly loved all your speculation, sorry if this is a bit of a disappointment. Hope you like this chapter, please let me know what you think.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yells and as soon as it says the word Mie feels overwhelming relief as while she knows she could make any house work Gryffindor is where she wanted to go, it's where she truly feels like she belongs.
"Go join your house Mie," Minerva says in a quiet voice, as she removes the hat, and Mie gets up and heads to the Gryffindor table as Mie is walking towards the Gryffindor table she glances back and looks at her father who is smiling proudly.
As they knew that it was the night that Mie was going to be sorted Lily, James, Sirius, Alice, and Amelia are all purposely sitting at the end of the table with their friends, though Remus is still in the Hospital wing.
"Welcome to Gryffindor," Lily greats as Mie sits down, knowing that is pretty ironic.
"Thank you," Mie responds, smiling slightly.
"I'm Alice Smith, that's Lily Evans, James Potter, Sirius Black, Amelia Bones, Emmaline Vance, Dorcus Meadows, Peter Pettigrew, Marlene McKinnon, and Mary McDonald," Alice introduces, pointing to everyone as she says their name, knowing that Mie doesn't need introductions, but it is necessary. "We're you're fellow seventh years, it's nice to meet you, Annemie," Alice says, hoping the smirk on her face makes her friends think she is just welcoming Mie and not the truth which is that she is trying really hard not to laugh at the strangeness of the situation.
"Thanks, it's nice to meet you too," Mie responds, the worlds feeling extremely strange as she knows Alice so well "But please, call me Mie, Dad's the only one who calls me Annemie," Mie says, and it feels extremely strange for her to say that to the person who gave her the name.
"Good to know," Sirius says amused, as he was wondering how Mie was going to handle that. "So, you been to Hogwarts before?" Sirius asks, pretending to be curious.
"I stayed with Dad a few times during the summer, when no one else was around, but that's it," Mie explains, as she knows it will help explain if she seems to know things about the castle that she shouldn't.
"Were you home schooled before now?" Emmaline asks curious, and Mie nods.
"Yeah, by my uncle," Mie explains.
"Ab?" Amelia asks, pretending to be surprised as she knows the other answer, and Mie shake her head.
"No, my other uncle, not Dad's brother," Mie explains, purposely not going into detail
"Why are you here now?" Peter asks, bluntly as he doesn't like that so much is changing.
"My Uncle and Aunt, who I lived with until now, were killed a few days ago," Mie says, putting pain in her voice, being able to do so by thinking about all the people she cares about who have died.
"I'm so sorry, Mie," Mary says in a kind voice. "Death Eaters?" Mary asks and Mie nods.
"I wasn't home so Dad doesn't think it was targeted," Mie admits, pain in her voice. "He thinks that because they were in a muggle area, they saw my uncle do magic and targeted him and my aunt," Mie explains, explaining enough of the story so they understand, but not so much that it seems like what she is saying is rehearsed.
"You were raised in a muggle area?" Dorcus asks, and Mie nods. "Wow, this has to be a shock," Dorcus admits.
"Starting to be," Mie admits, noticing that most eyes are on her. "Dad always wanted to protect me, so he kept me hidden," Mie explains, and every single person who hears understands that. "After Uncle Franklin and Aunt Anne were killed, I told dad I wasn't hiding anymore; I'm going to be who I am and fight back," Mie explains.
"You're going to fit right in around here," James says, gesturing his cup at her like he is toasting her, looking amused.
"Hope so," Mie responds, sounding nervous as she really is.
"I reckon you will," Marlene tells him. "And if you need anything you're a Gryffindor now, you've got all of us," Marlene assures Mie as it is important to her that housemates look out for each other.
"Thank you," Mie says, looking touched. "I really appreciate it," Mie admits, and the group proceed to eat dinner together.
A little while later it is clear that all the seventh year Gryffindor have finished eating, Mie having eaten less than the others.
"Ready to go?" Lily asks, looking between the others, though her eyes lingering on Mie.
"Yeah," Mie responds.
"Well show you the way," Amelia says as everyone starts to get up. "Our tower isn't hard to find I'm sure you'll learn the way quickly," Amelia comments, and Mie nods.
"Mie," A voice says sand everyone turns to see Minerva.
"Yes Min…. Professor?" Mie asks, and everyone around notices her slip which tells them that Mie knew McGonagall outside of Hogwarts, something which the fact that McGonagall also called her Mie also confirms.
"Come to my office before breakfast tomorrow and we can work out your class schedule," Minerva explains and Mie nods. "I assume one of you can show her the way," Minerva says, looking at the seventh years.
"Of course," Lily responds.
"Thank you," Minerva says. "Mie, I will leave you in very capable hands," Minerva says, Mie nods, and Minerva walks away.
"So, you know Professor McGonagall?" Alice asks, even though she knows the answer, as they walk across the hall.
"Yeah, before my aunt and uncle were killed Professor McGonagall and Uncle Ab were basically the only people who knew about me," Mie explains, and the others nod in understanding as they walk across the hall, Mie resisting the urge to look at Regulus as they do as while that is something she would very much like to do she knows it will put him in danger which is something she won't do.
After a walk that took longer than usual as everyone was explaining various things to Mie, the seventh years arrive at the Gryffindor tower.
"And here it is, the best place at Hogwarts, the Gryffindor common room," James says as they walk in.
"Honestly I thought you would think the Quidditch Pitch is the best place," Amelia admits.
"That's second best, get with it Bones," James tells her, and Amelia rolls her eyes.
"The armchairs and couch are usually the hardest to get, but as seventh years we have priority," Marlene tells Mie, who is amused as after spending six years in the Gryffindor she is pretty sure that that is not at all how it works, though of course it could be different in this time.
"Good to know," Mie responds looking amused.
"So, Emmy, Mary, Marlene, and Dorcas are in one dorm, and Lil, Amy and I are in the other, so you'll join us," Alice tells Mie, even though she already knows as she isn't supposed to.
"Cool, Dad said my things would be brought to my dorm," Mie explains. "Not that I have a lot of those," Mie mutters, though her voice is loud enough for the others to hear.
"Good, we can head up in a little while then," Lily says, as the seventh years, with the exception of Sirius, walk over to the seats by the fire.
"Padfoot?" James asks, noticing his friend.
"I'm going to go check on Remus, see how he's doing," Sirius explains as while he wants to help Mie feel welcome he knows the others can do that while what he really needs to do is be with Remus.
"Say hi for us," Emmaline requests.
"Of course," Sirius responds, before leaving.
"Remus?" Mie asks, pretending to be confused.
"Sirius's boyfriend, he in the hospital wing," Alice explains, knowing it's okay to say it as everyone now knows about the two of them.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Mie responds, frowning.
"Remus is tough, he'll be okay," Mary says, almost like she needs to believe it.
"So, what do you think of Hogwarts so far?" Marlene asks, clearly changing the subject as it is clear that everyone is worried about Remus.
"I like it," Mie admits. "A horrible situation brought me here, but I don't know, it feels like I belong here," Mie says, as she looks around.
"That's a common feeling, embrace it," Alice tells her as the two of them exchange amused looks.
A couple of hours after the seventh year Gryffindors got back to the tower they have all headed upstairs and Mie, Alice, Amelia, and Lily are walking into the door that the four of them will now be sharing.
"Mie? What is it?" Amelia asks, noticing that Mie has stopped in the doorway.
"This was my dorm, my entire time at Hogwarts," Mie admits, looking shocked, as she looks around. "And that was my bed," Mie says, looking at the empty bed which is clearly going to be hers.
"So, what you're saying, is that things are exactly how they should be," Alice says with a grin.
"Yeah, except you three are much better than my last roommates," Mie comments, walking into the room, then she feels a stab of guilt as she thinks about what happened to Lavender, closing the door behind her.
"Glad to hear it," Lily says as she, Alice, and Amelia exchange looks, it being clear that they are debating which of them will see something.
"I something wrong?" Mie asks concerned, noticing the looks.
"No," Alice assures her. "Mie, we want you to know that you don't have to put silencing charms up," Alice explains to Mie.
"If I don't, you'll get woken up multiple times a night," Mie tells the others, not wanting to put them through that.
"So? We'll deal with it," Amelia says, clearly not phased. "Mie, we want to help you," Amelia assures her.
"I appreciate that, I really do," Mie admits. "But I don't want to make things harder for you," Mie admits.
"We've talked about it, and we're good with being woken up if that means we can help you," Alice tells her.
"I'll think about it," Mie responds as she isn't prepared to say yes just yet.
"That's all we ask," Lily says, and both Amelia and Alice nod.
Over the next few minutes Mie, Amelia, Alice, and Lily all get ready for bed, and once they are all changed, they climb into their beds all of them having closed the curtains around their respective beds.
For a few moments Mie lies in bed, debating what to do, until she knows what she has to do, and she uses her wand to cast silencing spells around her bed as while she knows that her friends meant what they said she doesn't want to make things harder for them.
After she silences her space Mie puts her wand on her bedside table, and then after making herself comfortable she attempts to fall asleep.
Unsurprisingly, a couple of hours after Mie feel asleep, she jolts awake, and as a reflex she grabs her wand as her eyes dart around the room, and as the room is oh so familiar and not attached to memories of death and destruction, she is able to calm herself before she has a full on flashback.
Not wanting to lie down Mie gets up and heads to the window closest to her bed, getting there Mie looks out of the window and onto the grounds, for a second Mie thinks she can see the reminds of battle and so she quickly turns away and walks back over to her bed.
Sitting back down Mie has no intention of going back to sleep, rather she sits cross legged in her bed, and opening her beaded bag, which she wasn't ready to part with just yet despite the risk of it being seen, Mie opens, and it pull out a textbook of Albus's that she has been reading, and continues to read it. While she knows a lot of what the textbook is saying it is Albus's notes that make it fascinating.
After hours of reading Mie finishes the text book and as she figures it is almost time where her friends will wake up Mie gets up and heads to the bathroom to get ready.
After showering, having spent a lot longer in the shower than necessary, Mie puts her familiar Gryffindor unform on and as she looks at the mirror at her new appearance, she realises that her reflection doesn't look like a stranger. While her appearance is different, and it is rather strange to see blue eyes reflected back rather than brown Mie knows that she is looking at herself, the way her reflection looks is how she sees herself now.
After adjusting her tie, and realising that after everything that has happened, so much uncertainty, being back in Gryffindor colours feels like she is getting a piece of stability back, Mie starts to do her hair. As she puts it up she realises that the scar from Bellatrix's knife is even more visible when her hair is up.
As she stares at the reflection of her scar in the mirror Mie reaches up and runs her hand over the scar, and for a few seconds she almost feels the pain.
"No," Mie says, moving her hand away and turning away from the mirror, refusing to let herself get drawn into a memory, and heading out of the bathroom, hoping that everyone will be polite to ask about the scar as she honestly doesn't know what she will say if she is asked.
After leaving the bathroom Mie heads back to the door where the others are. Looking around the room she sees that Lily is completely ready, Amelia is completely ready, while Alice is trying to find both her tie and shoe.
"Morning," Mie greats, looking between the others.
"Hi Mie, have you seen my tie?" Alice asks, as she searches. "Or my shoe,"
"No, sorry," Mie responds.
"I have no idea where your shoe is, but didn't you take your tie off downstairs?" Amelia asks her friend, not at all phased as Alice losing her possessions is a common occurrence.
"YES!" Alice exclaims before hurrying downstairs.
"How'd you sleep?" Lily asks, walking over to Mie.
"Not great, but not completely awful," Mie admits, as a couple of hours of sleep is better than what she has experienced.
"That's not an answer," Amelia says, from where she is packing her bag.
"Yeah, guess not," Mie admits, and she sighs. "I had nightmares, but no flashbacks," Mie explains.
"That's progress I guess," Lily says, frowning slightly as it is clear that she is worried for her.
"FOUND IT!" Alice says, hurrying back into the room, carrying her tie, and looking excited.
"What about your shoe?" Amelia asks curious.
"Still working on that," Alice admits, and the others look amused.
"I should go, I've got to meet with Minerva," Mie says, looking around.
"Yeah, I'll show you away," Lily tells her.
"I know the way to Minerva's office," Mie says amused, though she appreciates it.
"Mie, you're not supposed to," Amelia reminds her.
"Right," Mie says with a nod, as she forget that for a moment. "Lead the way Lily," Mie says, picking up her school bag, having left her beaded bag in her bedside table, before heading out of the dorm with Lily.
About five minutes after they left their dorm Lily and Mie are approaching Minerva's office together. As it is still pretty early there aren't many people around which Mie very much likes as while she is no stranger to people looking at her, watching her, she would rather that no happen so soon.
"And that's it, the rundown on basically everyone you need to know about," Lily informs Mie, helping her with the kind of info that wasn't really included in the readings.
"Thanks, I appreciate it," Mie responds, as she is sure it will be good to know, as they get to the office door.
"Do you need me to stay?" Lily asks curious.
"No, I'll be okay, thank you," Mie says gratefully, and Lily nods.
After nodding at Mie Lily heads off heading to the Great Hall for breakfast, while Mie knocks on the door to Minerva's office.
"Come in," Minerva's office responds, and Mie walks in, closing the door behind her. "Good morning, Mie," Minerva great.
"Morning Professor," Mie responds as she sits down across from Minerva.
"How are you doing?" Minerva asks, in a truly caring voice.
"Okay, I think," Mie says, nodding. "Strangely enough being back in a Gryffindor uniform is helping," Mie admits. "It feels right," Mie admits.
"I'm really glad to hear that," Minerva admits, as in her book anything that helps Mie is good in her book. "Now we do need to talk about your class selection," Minerva tells Mie.
"Right, are there any restrictions?" Mie asks curious.
"You are only able to do a maximum of seven topics," Minerva tells Mie, who nods. "And Care of Magical Creatures is on the same time as Arithmancy so you would have to do one or the other," Minerva tells Mie.
"Okay," Mie admits. "Dad and I talked, and he told me I should do whatever topics I want to do," Mie admits, and Minerva really likes that even though she doesn't have to because they're not around anyone, Mie calls Albus Dad as it shows that that is very much how Mie feels. "That I shouldn't pick topics because it's what I think I should do," Mie admits.
"Your Dad's right," Minerva tells Mie. "You're doing so much for everyone else, you should do this for you," Minerva tells Mie. "You can take your time to think about what topics you want to do," Minerva tells Mie.
"It's okay, I don't need time, I know," Mie admits, and she takes a breath. "Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Herbology, Potions, Ancient Ruins, Arithmancy," Mie says. "Is that possible?" Mie asks.
"Yes, you'll be doing the same topics as Lily, Amelia, Edger, Frank and Severus," Minerva explains. "Your fellow Gryffindor's are doing some combinations of the topics you listed, Care of Magic Creatures and History of Magic," Minerva explains.
"You can do History of Magic during NEWTS?" Mie asks surprised as she has never heard of that.
"Yes, it's not common, but you can," Minerva admits. "Sirius, Dorcus and Remus are doing it," Minerva says, Mie nods in understanding and she can't help but wonder why future Remus never told her that.
As Minerva talks to Mie, she takes a blank piece of paper which she taps and hands to Mie giving her the schedule.
"I will see you second period," Minerva says, handing the timetable over. "I will also talk to all your professors during breakfast," Minerva tells Mie
"Thank you," Mie says as she looks at the schedule and has a look at what her day is going to be like, and she can't help but feel a little nervous.
"Mie, you're going to be fine," Minerva assures her. "And if you need anything my door is always open," Minerva tells Mie.
"Thanks, I appreciate it," Mie says. "I'll see you in class," Mie says before getting up and heading out of the room. As Mie leaves the office she feels her nerves rise as while she is used to being the smartest person in the year she isn't sure how that it is going to be in a new time around new people, and due to her deep fear of failure Mie can't help but feel afraid about how class is going to go.